Inheiritance
by Yami Maniac
Summary: Kanda Yuu is in for some big changes in his life. They start with Valentine’s Day, the Lunar New Year, a trip to Japan aka Akuma central , a Moyashi, an Usagi, and the fact his last name’s ‘Kanda’... Rating raised to T for violence, swearing and etc.
1. Valentine's Sucks

_**Inheritance**_

_**Valentine's sucks**_

_**Disclaimer: **__I solemnly swear I own nothing but the plot, my laptop, and the smugness that I have taken Kanda's ego to a whole new level._

_Kanda Yuu is in for some big changes in his life. They start with Valentine's Day, the Lunar New Year, a trip to Japan (aka Akuma central), a Moyashi, an Usagi, and the fact his last name's 'Kanda'._

--

The sun was shining. The birds were singing. The flowers were blooming. Romance was in the air. Wasn't spring just beautiful?

_**WHAM.**_

Or not.

Yuu was having a horrible day. First off, he overslept, and Kanda Yuu, the badass samurai exorcist of the Black Order, does not, repeat, _does not_ oversleep. Yuu was one of the freaks of nature known as morning people. He prided himself on his internal clock, which _never_ failed to wake him at exactly 5.15am every morning, so he could monopolise the bath area and have a good half hour of peace and quiet for meditation, then about an hour of decent training before the sun had even risen.

Never until today. Yuu had woken up with the disgusting springtime overly-cheery sunshine shining in his eyes through his (broken) stained glass window, feeling like a million Usagi were running around screaming inside his skull. Yuu guessed it was maybe 10 o' clock, from how bright the sun was. He stared at the ceiling lethargically, feeling like crap, wondering if he should even bother getting out of bed today when-

_**WHAM.**_

"Yuu-chan!! Wake up! It's a glorious new morning, and I betcha' never guess what day today is!!"

Brilliant. Freaking, bloody brilliant. Lavi's voice was loud as hell, thrice as annoying as usual and just the right timing to make Yuu wish he didn't wake up at all this accursed morning.

"Yuu-chan!! Yuu-CHAN!! YUU-CHAN!! I know you're in there!! I checked the entire Order already! You don't think you can hide from me, right?! Not today! Come out or I'm coming in!!"

"_Kuso_," Yuu cursed under his breath, pulling on his coat and grabbing Mugen. That bloody rabbit! He was definitely going to die. Yuu's head was ringing from the idiot's obnoxiously loud voice. When he was done with the Bookman Junior, he was going to become the 'dearly departed', _late_ Bookman Junior, Lavi. Oh, yes. Self-proclaimed 'Best Friend of Kanda Yuu (the Infinitely Awesome Murderous Sword-Wielding Exorcist)' status be damned.

"I'm counting to ten, Yuu!! One, two, three!"

"Dammit," Yuu growled, grabbing his hair tie and attempting to pull his hair into his ponytail.

"Four, five, six!"

"Shut the hell up, damn rabbit!!" he shouted, giving up on his hair and flinging the hair tie onto the unmade bed.

"Seven, eight, nine!"

Yuu lunged for the door.

"Ten! I'm coming in!" Lavi announced, turning the handle. Yuu reached the door just when Lavi opened it.

"_Out_! Out of my room or _die_!"

"Yeeek! Yuu-chan! Why so violent so early today?!" Lavi yapped, scrambling backwards as Yuu stood in front of his door protectively, Mugen drawn. Lavi didn't mention how he was never inside Yuu-chan's room to begin with, but Yuu looked like he was just waiting for an excuse to kill someone, something or anything, him in particular.

"…So loud…Today (censored) sucks… I need to kill _something_, slowly and painfully…" Yuu muttered, partially covering his face with one hand, eyes squeezed shut. Lavi had the sneaking suspicion that that was directed to him and took his cue.

"Uh, anyway, I'll be going now!" Lavi laughed nervously, scampering off before he could incur Kanda Yuu's wrath. Wise of him.

So Yuu was left in an empty corridor, very unhappy because he was forced to get up, extremely annoyed because once he was up, there was no way he could go back to sleep, and very pissed off because he felt like crap. He stood there for a while, wondering what he should do.

He finally came to the conclusion he needed to do something about _it_.

--

Lavi regrouped with Linalee and Allen in the cafeteria, panting, because he ran all the way from the seventh floor. He held up a hand to stop them from asking anything first, doubled over, panted some more, straightened and took a deep breath.

"Before you ask, yes, I did find him. Again, before you ask, I don't think it's humanely possible to get him to peacefully participate in Valentine's Day today… I think he's got a hangover or something… he seemed to be having a headache… and sensitive hearing…" Lavi rattled off.

Allen and Linalee nodded slightly. Allen had guessed as much, BaKanda was always a wet blanket when ever fun and festivities were involved. Linalee knew Kanda didn't like being around so many people, so it wasn't much of a surprise, but she still harboured a small glimmer of hope that he would decide to join in one day rather than sulking in a dark corner.

"I'll go get out of my uniform then," Linalee told the two boys.

"We'll come for you later, Linalee!" Lavi grinned enthusiastically. Allen nodded, smiling.

Linalee walked out of the cafeteria, checking to make sure no one was looking and activated her Dark Boots and flitted up to her room. It was against protocol, but they were just so useful and so much faster than walking up so many flights of stairs. She opened her door.

"Linalee," Yuu greeted unhappily, looking up from his seat on the floor next to her bed. His hair was down and slightly ruffled and he looked like he didn't get enough sleep.

"Kanda!" she exclaimed, hurriedly shutting the door. If her brother ever got wind of this… Oh boy…

"The Supervisor, right?" Yuu asked tiredly, even though it obviously was. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back so it rested on her bed. "Anyway, Linalee. I… argh, I can't say it…" He held out a small folded square, and Linalee took it slowly. Did Kanda feel _that_ way about her? What would she say? What would _her brother_ say?

She unfolded the note slowly. Yuu didn't look up at her, eyes still firmly shut.

-- (No, this is not a KandaXLinalee fic)--

Sigh. Tap. Sigh. Sigh. Tap. Sigh. Tap. Sigh. Tap. Sigh. Tap. Tap. Siiiigh…

"Lavi! Stop sighing already!!" Allen almost screamed. Lavi's face was on the table and he hadn't stopped sighing and tapping his empty plate with his fork since he finished eating.

"I'm thinking, Moyashi-chan," Lavi said with an explanatory air. Sigh. Tap. Sigh. Tap. Sigh.

An anger mark grew on Allen's cheek as he continued to stuff his face. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day after all, he concluded. And Lavi was ruining _breakfast_.

"Don't you have better things to do? Or go think somewhere else. I'm eating here," Allen told the Bookman Junior, while simultaneously shovelling down huge amounts of food.

"Hm…" Lavi wandered over to the ordering partition connected to the kitchen. "Jerry!'

The flamboyant chef popped his head out of the little window thing. "Lavi! What can I do for you?" Jerry squealed. Lavi sweatdropped but smiled anyway.

"I was wondering… you didn't happen to serve Kanda any coffee, right?"

Jerry thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Don't think so. Unless he asked for it, I wouldn't give it to him, because he'd just waste it. Why?"

Lavi waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, just checking. Thanks Jerry!" He walked slowly back to Allen's mountain of dishes, head bowed in thought. So… it wasn't a hangover (1) …

--

Linalee's eyes widened as she looked over the note, and re-read it to be sure, and re-re-read it to make _very_ sure she wasn't hallucinating.

--

"What could it be?" wondered Lavi out loud. Allen barely glanced at him, happily munching on Jerry's wonderful mitsurashi dango. An idea that was jaw-dropping genius worthy hit Lavi like a speeding bullet train. Lavi had never guessed! Until now…

"Allen! Hurry! We need to find Linalee! Now!"

--

"Please don't make a fuss, Linalee," Yuu asked, still not opening his eyes. "I need you to h-he- get those things for me."

Why in the world would _Kanda_, THE Kanda Yuu, ask her for help with the weirdest shopping list she'd ever seen? (And she'd seen a couple of the Science Department's orders, and she'd thought _those_ were weird.)

"Wha- what do you need these for, Kanda?" she asked, surprised.

"Something I don't want to drag you into," he answered vaguely. "But you can see why I need you to do it. You have the Boots as well. It would be fastest if it was you."

Wow, Kanda put a lot of thought into this, for him, Linalee was amazed. He usually didn't think so much when doing things, relying on brute force, intimidation and, (she'd seen this only once though), his good looks.

She looked at the note, looked at Yuu, looked at the note again, looked back at Yuu, stared at the note…

"You're dying to ask, aren't you?" Yuu said gloomily.

Linalee took a deep breath.

"Kanda, I know you're single, so why in the world, heaven and hell included, do _you_ need _pregnancy prevention pills_?!"

--

Allen nearly choked on his dango as he was dragged bodily out of the cafeteria by Lavi, who seemed in some sort of hurry for some unknown reason. He couldn't help but notice Lavi was looking around every two seconds, as if he was going to get in trouble…

Hold that thought.

"Lavi! What are you dragging me into this time!!" Allen asked in horror. Last time he recalled something like this, he was attacked by Kanda, Komurin _and_ Akuma simultaneously.

Lavi stopped, and looked at Allen with all seriousness.

"We, my friend, must save the Dark Order's Princess Linalee from the evil clutches of the ice demon king in need of anger management sword master Yuu-chan!" Lavi cackled maniacally, completely dispelling the serious aura he had been emitting until half a minute ago. He whipped out his Hammer and motioned for Allen to hold on.

Allen nearly fell face flat onto the floor in exasperation.

--

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Yuu said flatly. Linalee thought a bit, and then gasped in horror.

"Kanda! Are you- are you actually a _girl_?! And- and you think you're _pregnant?!_"

"_Hell, __**no**_!" Yuu snapped, feeling his masculine pride being torn to shreds in front of him. "I am _male_! _**Male**_!"

"Oh. So…"

"It's complicated. Just go already," Yuu bit out, feeling the small, minuscule, tiny, microscopic reservoir of patience he had begin to run very dry.

"But… we need permission to go out of the Order, and they take weeks to process!" Linalee protested. She didn't want Kanda or her brother getting into trouble…

"This cannot wait," Yuu said seriously, finally opening his eyes to look at her, trying to convey the gravity of the situation she didn't understand.

"Kanda, if you want me to help you," Linalee huffed, putting her hands on her hips. Yuu winced slightly at the word 'help', and Linalee sighed internally at his insane amount of pride. "You have to at least tell me what's going on!"

There was a terse silence, and Linalee doubted whether he would actually answer when he got up and went to look out her window, his back to her, and suddenly, Linalee wasn't sure that she wanted to hear her friend's answer to the obviously sensitive question. The words he whispered were so soft she could barely hear them, drifting on a slight wisp of a spring breeze.

"I'm becoming a monster."

--

A/N: _Yo! (_Review, please!_) Hoped you liked it! (_Review, please!_) I called Kanda 'Yuu' in this chappie,(_Is it ok? Review, please!_) and I shall continue to do it for the rest of the fic,(_Review?_) because later,(_Please?_) since Kanda is a surname,(_Pretty please?_) and I will be referring to his family,(_Pretty please with the Moyashi's dango thrown into the deal?_) I want to avoid confusion. (_Allen: HEY!!_) Also, for fun, try reading bits of the fic out loud. (_Yuu: Don't you dare.) _It's fun. (_Yuu: Oh, hell no it isn't!_) Example, "Yuu guessed it was about 10 o' clock, from how bright the sun was."(_REVIEW Please!?_)_

(1): Yeah. Hangovers from coffee. It's not impossible. I get them, and since I 'am' Kanda, (See OBOE: Operation Black Order Exorcists (Written by R3d and B1ack)) everyone's favourite Yuu-chan gets the horrors of coffee hangover too.


	2. Biology 101

_**Inheritance**_

_**Biology 101**_

_**Disclaimer: **__I solemnly swear I own nothing but the plot, my laptop, and the smugness that I have taken Kanda's ego to a whole new level._

_Kanda Yuu is in for some big changes in his life. They start with Valentine's Day, the Lunar New Year, a trip to Japan (aka Akuma central), a Moyashi, an Usagi, and the fact his last name's 'Kanda'._

Language notes:

_Sayonara_: Japanese for 'goodbye', but it implies that it is a final goodbye, as in they will not be meeting again.

_The huge chunk of italic text in the middle of the chapter_: dream sequence.

-chan: Japanese suffix. Means 'little', as in small. Usually used for children and girls.

---

"I'm becoming a monster."

---

There was a silence, half expectant, half unsure, where Linalee was dying to say something, Yuu was just waiting for her to ask something, and she didn't dare open her mouth for fear of saying something wrong.

The good news was, she was saved.

The bad news was, Lavi was dead. Or was about to die, very shortly after he flung the door wide open, with a huge grin on his face.

There was another silence, half tired, half murderous and half nervous. Yes, there is one too many halves, but there was also one too many people.

"Uh, Lavi, Komui is going to murder you if he knows you opened Linalee's door when she was supposed to be changing…"

Correction, _two_ very superfluous people.

"Oh, Yuu-chan! Ahah, I'll just be going now! I'll be cheering for you and Linalee!" Lavi laughed nervously before slamming the door shut.

Yuu stared out the window.

Linalee stared at the door.

Birdsong filled the pause.

The opened just a crack, Lavi's green eye just barely visible through the crack.

"Yuu-chan, you're not going to kill me?"

Yuu sighed. "Not unless you really want me to and only if it has to be today."

Lavi fell backwards with a loud 'thump'. Allen's concerned cry brought more trouble.

"What are all you nasty men doing outside my beautiful Linalee's room!"

"No, Komui! We just came! I swear!"

"Brother!" Linalee shouted, running out to save Allen and Lavi. Yuu just closed his eyes tighter and wished they didn't make so much noise. It was ringing in his head, making him sort of dizzy.

"_**SHUT UP!!**_" Yuu _almost_screamed, almost, because Kandas didn't scream. The ruckus in the corridor stopped immediately and relative silence was sweet to his ears. He sighed in relief. But of course, good things never last.

"Kanda! Why are you in my beloved Linalee's room!?! If you don't answer me right now, I have this new experiment I've been looking for a test subject for…" Komui threatened with a manic gleam reflecting off his spectacles. Yuu rolled his eyes, not that any one of them could see it, and sighed again. Why, oh why, did this have to happen to him?

"You," He snapped, trying to keep some semblance of patience intact, turning and pointing at Komui. "You and you," he pointed at Linalee and the still in shock Bookman Junior. "We need to talk, somewhere quiet, with nobody around."

Komui sensed something was underfoot, and nodded seriously. "My office."

---

"Man, I can't believe we were kicked out of the lab!" Reever grumped, scribbling on the file he had managed to grab before Kanda had raged into the lab, and practically destroyed everything to clear the entire floor.

"I was ignored," Allen sulked. "I was right there, and the _jerk_BaKanda _ignored_me." He said that, but inwardly, the British teen was wondering what was so important that Kanda would clear the entire Science Division from outside Komui's office.

---

Yuu checked the door once again, locking it to be sure. It was blissfully quiet, and he felt calmer already.

"I have a lot to say," Yuu began slowly. "I don't want this to be heard by anyone else, got it?" he demanded, thinking of blood oaths and unbreakable vows before dismissing them to the back of his mind. He didn't need these three dying even if they chose to blab their mouths off.

They nodded.

"First, I have a list of things I need," Yuu said, glancing at Linalee. "I want permission to leave the Black Order immediately. Actually, to let Linalee to leave the Order." He paced the cramped length of Komui's messy office, trying to avoid the important looking documents on the floor and failing.

"List?" Lavi asked. Yuu glared at him, as he peeped at the small note over Linalee's shoulder. Lavi glanced down the list, and hurriedly checked again, eye widening comically.

"What's this, Yuu-chan?" he asked, eye gleaming wickedly. Yuu wanted to bang his head against the wall, or rather papers, seeing as the walls were almost completely blocked by mountains of books and discarded papers. The Bookman Junior's head, of course. Yuu had never been one for masochism.

Komui perked up slightly. "Read it, Lavi," he urged, but the redhead didn't need any encouragement.

Yuu felt a sense of cold dread jump him as Lavi opened his mouth and _accidentally _flicked the lights off.

"Yuu-chan!!" Lavi protested. Yuu snatched the list from Linalee and shoved it in his pocket, scowling until he realised they couldn't see him in the dark. He flicked the switch again, blinking as the sudden light temporarily blanked out his vision.

"_Roses (red) x13_

_Quartz crystals x250 grams_

_Dark chocolate (no sugar) x600 grams_

_Purifying salt x 50 grams_

_Pearls x10 (black) x15 (normal)_

_Silver chain x40 cm_

_Pregnancy prevention pills x1 bottle_

_Aspirin x 1 bottle_

_Youth potion x 1500 millilitres_

_Holy water x 500 millilitres_

_Moonflowers (Ipomoea) x2 Mexican Morning Glory (tlitliltzin, I. tricolour)_

_x3 Heavenly Blue Morning Glory (I. tricolour violacea)_

_x1 Moon Vine (I. alba)_

_Cinnamon x3 sticks."_

Yuu couldn't believe his own ears. He had always known the rabbit's memory was good, but this was insane! He couldn't have seen the list for longer than twenty seconds, and everything was correct, down to the scientific names of all the moonflowers!

"Do you have a girlfriend, Yuu-chan?" Lavi teased. Yuu felt the urge to whack the stupid rabbit into April 31st, (which doesn't exist) and flicked the lights off again. This was worse than he had expected…

"Shut up Bookman," Yuu muttered. "And stop grinning like an idiot!" he snapped.

"How do you know I'm grinning with the lights off?" Lavi challenged. Komui chuckled softly and Yuu even heard Linalee giggle slightly. _I can see you, that's how_, Yuu thought venomously, but out loud he just snarled.

"By the way, Kanda," Komui said, just keeping the amusement out of his voice. (A/N: Bio crash course!) "If your girlfriend and you want to (censored) pregnancy prevention pills are not immediate acting, and if she misses taking the pills more than twice a month, it will not be effective for the remainder of that cycle, so I would recommend-"

"If you value your life, you'll stop there," Yuu threatened, feeling whatever purity of mind he had threaten to disappear completely. Lavi was snickering uncontrollably and Linalee was blushing heavily. "I. Do not. Have. A girlfriend! And get your mind out of the freaking gutter! All of you!"

Actually, Yuu was more than slightly suspicious about how the Supervisor knew so much about the pills. Being Head of the Science Department couldn't cover all of it.

"Kanda, could you switch the light back on and leave it on?" Linalee asked softly, still blushing. "You're going to fuse the lights." Yuu grudgingly switched the lights back on.

"But I'm wondering, since when did Yuu-chan get so smart?" Lavi wondered aloud.

"They'll never find your body if you call me by my first name again," Yuu threatened, casually placing a hand on Mugen's hilt.

"And if I don't?" Lavi asked. Yuu scoffed in disbelief. Lavi grinned. "Nice to see you have so much confidence in me, _Yuu-chan_!"

"Dammit, that does it. Komui, the Bookman Junior was KIA-ed on a mission off the coast of Mexico," Yuu declared, drawing Mugen. Lavi yelped and hid behind Linalee.

"Now, Kanda, you haven't told us why you need this… list," Komui tried to placate the irked slice-happy exorcist. Yuu shot Lavi a look that promised death, doom and plenty of despair before sheathing Mugen and turning back to Komui.

"Which item?" Yuu asked monotonously, settling on the sofa gracefully.

"Uh," Yuu could almost see the gears turning in Komui's head, trying to find a not-so-sensitive item to discuss. "How about…"

"Chocolate," Lavi supplied effortlessly. Komui nodded in agreement. "Especially since you hate sweets!" Lavi added.

"Chocolates aren't sweets. Especially dark chocolate. It's not sweet at all," Yuu said defensively. All three of them gave him the 'yeah, whatever you say' look.

"Chocolate is an aphrodisiac," Lavi taunted. "Are you still trying to hide your girlfriend somewhere?" Linalee shot Yuu an apologetic look which Yuu chose to ignore. Yuu took a deep breath, praying for patience.

"Dark chocolate's consumption is linked to serotonin levels, which plays a vital role in the central nervous system, modulating things like anger and aggression, _which you're not helping_!" Yuu snarled viciously.

The three of them gaped at him while he braced his hand against his forehead, feeling the headache hammering away. Lavi let out a low, impressed whistle. Yuu looked up at him sharply.

"_**What?!**_"

"Nothing! Nothing at all, Yuu-chan! It's just… where have you been hiding your brains for, I dunno, _all the years of your life?!"_

_You didn't seriously think I was as stupid as I let on, did you? I'll kill you if you did. Besides, research is easy with the Bookman hideout (library) takes up the entire tenth floor!!! _Yuu thought. Out loud, "I didn't want to be dragged into a desk job like the suckers out there," he said contemptuously, looking pointedly at Komui, who was trying his best to look innocent, and failing miserably. "Besides, the higher ups don't give a damn about you if they think you're stupid and will just follow whatever orders they give like well trained dogs."

He paused to let that sink in. Lavi nodded, looking curious still. Linalee looked slightly awkward, in a room of three other guys discussing rather questionable things. Komui was looking deviously evil, as if running through all the possible ways to coerce Yuu into joining the overworked Science Department staff, which Yuu wouldn't put past him to do.

There was a bit of shuffling and silence again when Yuu sighed.

"Ask," he half ordered, wanting to get this over and done with. Lavi and Komui exchanged glances before simultaneously bursting out.

"_WHY?_!"

Yuu winced at the explosive volume. Even Linalee was curious, unobtrusively taking a step closer to hear more clearly. There was no avoiding this for Yuu, unfortunately…

"Pregnancy prevention pills deal with hormone production," Yuu murmured reluctantly. Komui nodded, confirming it.

"You're a _girl_?" Lavi gaped. "And you like this guy, and you think your PMS-ing is scaring him away, so-"

"Hell _no_! No, and for the _last freaking time_, _**NO**_!"

"If that's not it… You're a girl and your preg-"

"Go any further and I _will _kill you, Bookman Junior or not. _I'm__** not**__ a girl!" _Yuu hissed, wishing everyone would stop jumping to freaking bloody _wrong_ conclusions. Besides which, pregnancy prevention pills did not equal abortion.

"Kanda, what is it for?" Linalee asked. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," she added hastily when Yuu's head whipped round to look at her.

"When you put it that way, who could _not_want to tell you, my precious Linalee?!" Komui blabbered nonsensically. Linalee _discreetly _kicked him and he collapsed into a puddle on the floor, still whining about his darling sister.

"Please ignore him," she said brightly, while Lavi silently mouthed, 'Did she kick him where I _think _she kicked him?!', and Yuu nodded, though he wasn't sure which person he was replying to.

"I am-" Yuu paused, thinking of a way to explain without revealing too much, while still making sense. "I have a family history of this… problem…"

"What problem, Yuu-chan? You're not making sense!" Lavi prompted, earning a glare that reminded him that he was going to die sooner or later, and if he carried on like that, it would be sooner.

"Think of it as…" Yuu thought hard, trying to find an appropriate word to describe what he was going through without causing too much trouble for himself. "Delayed puberty."

---

They didn't do much for the next half hour or so, except Yuu using Mugen's flat to whack Komui to Lalaland because he wouldn't stop babbling nonsense. Lavi sprawled on one side of the couch, probably thinking of this new development, Linalee perched on the desk, wondering if she should try to revive Komui then thinking better of it and Yuu claiming the other side of the couch, feeling awkward as heck.

"Yuu-chan," Lavi said abruptly. Yuu stiffened. He had been dosing off slightly. Why in the world was he so _tired_? He was pretty sure he had clocked about 14 hours last night. He stifled a yawn and looked in the rabbit's general direction.

"There's more than this list that's you're not telling us, right?" Lavi prodded. Yuu was strangely compelled to kick him for his nosiness. Patience was a virtue that he really didn't have… Damn the Bookman's intuition… or intelligence… or whatever…

"Yes," came the clipped reply. Lavi blinked.

"Delayed puberty… so, will Yuu-chan finally start having _those _dreams-" Lavi teased before he got a boot to the head.

"Pervert," Yuu said dryly, and kicked again for good measure. Linalee watched this exchange with the smallest hint of a smile and a very red face.

"Ouch! Yuu-chan!!" Lavi yielded, and was pushed off the couch. Yuu stretched contentedly, mind gone blurry.

"Wake me up when the list is complete," he murmured before drifting off again.

---

_It was a black Ark. The new Ark. How he knew that, he wished he could say. He just __**knew.**__It was still in Japan, hovering ominously over Edo. None of the normal citizens would see it, it was cloaked with the Noah's or the Earl's strange abilities. Not that there were many normal people left in Edo. All Akuma. _

"_It's going to be hard to come back and claim what you must, eh, Yuu?_

_Yuu turned, startled. It was __**that person**__. The person whom he wanted badly to see again. The person whom he wanted never to meet again._

"_Surprised, Yuu? It's a wonder you kept your head last time when in Edo. Heaven knows how much you were terrified of being there. Hopeful too. Did you want to see me, Yuu?" that familiar shilouette asked. There was something wrong..._

"_No," Yuu answered guardedly. His own voice sounded strange. He realised that person's voice wasn't what he remembered, it was his own voice. No wonder that person was strange, then. _

"_Too bad. I'll be seeing you soon, Yuu."_

"_Hopefully not."_

"_Yuu is so mean, lying."_

"_I'm not."_

"_Oh really?"_

"I'm not."

"Not what, Yuu-chan?" Lavi asked, hand on his shoulder. Yuu blinked. The Ark, Edo, _that person_… It was a dream, huh?

"My list," Yuu demanded, not faulting. The Bookman Junior smiled that irritating grin that made Yuu want to punch him, holding up a paper bag. Yuu snatched it, looking at the room's three occupants briefly as he opened the door.

"Thank you," he said softly, struggling with the strange taste of unused words in his mouth. "And _Sayonara_."

---

_YM: Sorry for the long wait. I tried to make this chapter slightly longer to make up for it. Many, many competitions lately, plus have to prepare for EoY cosfest. No time. And before anyone asks, yes, I am a Science freak. I like science a lot. To the point of freakish workaholic. I enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope I am not deluding myself by hoping you enjoyed it too. Please review? It motivates me slightly?_


	3. Goodbyes and Other Complications

_**Inheritance**_

_**Goodbyes and Other Complications**_

_**Disclaimer: **__I solemnly swear I own nothing but the plot, my laptop, and the smugness that I have taken Kanda's ego to a whole new level._

_Kanda Yuu is in for some big changes in his life. They start with Valentine's Day, the Lunar New Year, a trip to Japan (aka Akuma central), a Moyashi, an Usagi, and the fact his last name's 'Kanda'._

Language notes:

_Moyashi_- in case you don't know, it's Jap for 'bean sprout', which is a white, tiny, straggly vegetable commonly found in Eastern dishes.

_Aren- _Romanisation of Allen's name, seeing as 'r' is pronounced similar to 'l' in Jap.

_-san_- Japanese suffix. Means mr/mrs/ms. Quite formal, and respectful, like someone you're talking to for the first time. As in 'hi, I'm John.' 'Nice to meet you, Mr. John.' The 'mister' is like '-san'.

_Nakama- _Jap for colleague/friend/partner/comrade. It's a very strong word for friend.

_-kun -_Japanese suffix. A more friendly term of Mr/ ms, but more commonly mr. Used for youngers or colleagues in place of –san. Example, a male classmate you are not all that close to would be (name)-kun.

---

"Thank you," he said softly, struggling with the strange taste of unused words in his mouth. "And _Sayonara_."

---

Yuu retreated into his room, thanking the heavens that the seventh floor was deserted. It wouldn't do for someone to find him now. His bed was packed for him, and a small pile of chocolates was stacked neatly on it, waiting for him, like every year. There was even a vase of unobtrusive flowers on his table next to the lotus hourglass. It must have been Linalee then, when he was asleep in Komui's office. Why she helped the few female finders put their crap in his room was beyond him. Why those few finders even liked him was a mystery that would last until the end of the world came.

Yuu grabbed the small black bag from under his bed where it had been gathering dust for years. He shook it out and coughed as the dust flew, before throwing his closet door open. He folded his two older uniforms, the black and white ones, and packed them at the bottom of the bag. Those things had saved him a lot of injuries throughout his service to the Order and damn if he was going to leave them here to rot. Next went in his beige cardigan, then his scarf, then his white, long sleeve shirt. Lastly, the list items. He would deal with them later.

As an after thought, he grabbed the lotus from the table and cushioned it with his clothes. Fortunately he didn't have much to pack, or it wouldn't have all fit in there. He straightened, taking a look around for anything he might have missed. For all the years in the Order, he was finished packing in less than five minutes. Feeling slightly sentimental, he took the flowers from the vase. He'd slip them into one of the other flower arrangements on the way down. It wouldn't be fair to let them wilt here. Chocolate he couldn't care less about. Chocolates don't die.

Yuu paused, feeling like he missed something, but couldn't pinpoint what it was…

_Tiedoll_. He'd said goodbye to Linalee, the idiot Supervisor and the even more idiotic rabbit, but not the General. Yuu grimaced at the thought of the old man's reactions when he found one of his students gone. He was honestly too attached to his apprentices, more like a grandfather than a teacher. Yuu had nearly gone mad in the first week of being his student.

If he didn't say goodbye to the old man, he'd never hear the end of it if he came back. Tiedoll might go looking for him just to sob and say 'why didn't you at least say goodbye?', and Marie would shake his head at Yuu. But both of them were out of Headquarters. Tiedoll looking for more accommodators, Heaven knows how much they needed new Exorcists; and Marie on a mission with the pineapple (1) and the brat (2).

Yuu sighed and scribbled a quick note in passable English, not caring for his spelling. He had some items he intended to leave behind…

_Dammit, I'm not dead yet, why am I sounding like I'm writing a will?!_ Yuu thought angrily, stabbing the paper with the pen. A big blotch of blue-black ink ended his note instead of a signature. Yuu left it as it was.

With Yuu leaving, the moyashi just might make it to General, the scrawny bean sprout, if the Order were desperate enough, with a high synchronisation Exorcist AWOL, and Cross still missing and presumed dead. Yuu would have to make it a point to beat some swordsmanship into the sprout. His footwork was cringe worthy, and his grip was sloppy at best. Hell, the only _good_ thing Yuu had to say about the moyashi's sword work was that his arm strength was inhuman, carrying that huge- _thing_ with one hand, even if it was technically his own arm. Oh, that that was slightly disturbing. And what would happen it the Innocence was destroyed again? It's not like Yuu, who could pick up any katana and fight(3). The moyashi needed to learn to work with other swords.

If he had time, when he came back, that would be one of the things he'd have to do.

_If_ he came back.

Yuu decided he needed to stop having such depressing thoughts. He was going to turn into the moyashi if he kept emo-ing like that- _oh my god_- was that a white hair?

_I really am turning into the sprout! Save me!_

Oh.

It was just the reflection.

Yuu breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't old enough to have white hair yet. The moyashi was an old man in his mind already, so it didn't mater that the Brit was only sixteen.

"Hey, Kanda!"

Think of the devil. Yuu turned to glare at the moyashi, who had nearly walked into his door as he opened it. The sprout was getting taller (thankfully not as tall as himself or Lavi yet, though), pity, really, but Kanda expected to start growing again now, so the bean sprout wouldn't be taller than him.

"What?" Yuu snapped, feeling all the sentimental mush vanish like a plate of unguarded dango in front of the moyashi.

"What were you talking to Lavi and Linalee about?" the sprout asked, face genuinely concerned for Yuu. It made Yuu's stomach churn with its disgusting saintly sweetness.

"None of your business, moyashi," Yuu said, trying to hide his bag and the flowers behind him. The sprout sighed at the long running nickname.

"It's _Allen_, BaKanda. I know it, you know it, I know you know it, and I know you know I know you know it, so _use it already_," the moyashi said, more exasperated than angry.

Okay, the moyashi wasn't as bad as he used to be. And he wasn't bad at fighting, even if his sword skills needed work, a lot of it. And he did earn Yuu's grudging, _very_ reluctant respect several times to counter his personality.

In short, yes, the moyashi deserved a goodbye. Kind of.

"Hey," Yuu put a hand on the sprout's shoulder, and the Brit's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "I'm… sorry."

"Wha-? What are you sorry _for_?" the moyashi asked, confused.

"_Sayonara, Aren-san_."

Allen didn't have time to even blink before Mugen connected soundly with his skull.

---

What a waste of time, Yuu thought as he went down the stairs towards the river exit. He hadn't meant to leave behind a reason for the Order to hunt him down, and knocking out an Exorcist with over 100 per cent synchronisation was definitely a reason, even if his own sync rate was in the 90's. Well, as an apology he had scribbled down on the letter that the moyashi could have the chocolates on the bed. Food was the answer to everything concerning the moyashi. Seriously, that vegetable needed to grow up already when it concerned normal everyday life. He's still an old man when you mentioned the word Akuma.

"Yuu-chan? Where you going?"

Yuu bit back a not very polite word and turned around, and wondered how much money it would take to ship a body to Mexico.

Let's see, bribe the local police, the ship's captain, the ship's crew, the Mexican police, the harbour security… Shit, that's a lot. Never mind. Something cheaper… Like giving the body to the Earl as a donation. It's free. Wait, that meant there would be more stupid Akuma around, meaning more work.

Ah, dammit, it seemed the rabbit would live for Easter.

Not that they really celebrated Easter.

Damn cheapskate Order.

"Nowhere. _You_ are going to get lost." Yuu said flatly, continuing down the stairs. Yuu heard Lavi following, and reconsidered how much money he had to spare. Maybe he could _persuade_ (4) those people to do the shipping for free.

"Then who are you going to give the flowers to, Yuu-chan?" Lavi said smugly. Yuu swore as he stared at the flowers, which innocently stared back. Yes, Yuu swore that the flowers were exuding the same aura as the moyashi, and were _smiling _at his misfortune they had unintentionally, accidentally on purpose, caused.

No, he was not insane.

Yuu sighed and turned around again, deciding to make the Bookman run or drop dead on the spot.

"They're for you," Yuu said, attempting to copy the moyashi's sickly sweet demeanour. Lavi's face actually turned blue, like his blood had gone so cold it froze his face. His expression was so priceless Yuu actually thought it was worth it to degrade himself to the sprout's level.

"W-wha-?" Lavi stammered, eye so huge with shock it was comical. "Who are you and what have you done to Yuu?!"

Lavi's face met the floor shortly after Yuu's boot met his head. "I'll need flowers to put on your grave," Yuu continued in false cheer. "After all, we're _nakama_, right, Lavi_-kun_?"

That did it. Lavi passed out cold.

---

Yuu dropped Lavi into one of the boats, panting heavily. Man, for a skinny guy, Lavi was _heavy_. The moyashi too, actually, and that was just hiding him in Yuu's room so he wouldn't be found out too early.

Well, at least Valentine's finally served some use. No one would be coming down to the river anytime soon. Yuu took his bag and stepped into another boat, slicing the lines tethering it to the Order in a clean stroke before sheathing Mugen as the boat was carried away down the river.

Yuu closed his eyes, mentally bidding farewell to the Order…

And preparing to finally face _that person _again.

---

_YM: Oh, this is kind of short. I was in Bangkok shopping for cosplay stuff for a week. It's cheaper there. Stares up slightly guilty. I guess I forgot to mention this, but this is about a year after the start of the series, meaning 'future'. Not current. Whoops. Sorry. Oh, and I want to know if I should drag on Yuu's leaving because I have two plausible scenarios, one is much longer, maybe four chapters worth, and one is much shorter, like one chap. Please review!_

(1): Chaoji, one of the guy's from Anita's ship, became an accommodator after the Noah's Ark arc, his Innocence is strength enhancing, equipment type, and last we heard, he's a student of Tiedoll. His hair is whacked.

(2): Timothy, from the Phantom Thief G arc. Innocence is body possession, should be parasitic. I'm just chucking him with Tiedoll, because I don't like Winters and I dread to think what the little monster pervert would do to Cloud.

(3): The Akuma attack on the Order. Mugen and Lavi's Hammer were out, but Yuu still saved Komui from the level 4 with normal katana, which promptly shattered when he blacked the akuma's attack.

(4): Again, _OBOE: Operation Black Order Exorcists_ reference, seeing as those events 'happened before' Inheritance.


	4. Security Sucks Too

_**Inheritance**_

_**Security Sucks (Too)**_

_**Disclaimer: **__I solemnly swear I own nothing but the plot, my laptop, and the smugness that I have taken Kanda's ego to a whole new level._

_Kanda Yuu is in for some big changes in his life. They start with Valentine's Day, the Lunar New Year, a trip to Japan (aka Akuma central), a Moyashi, an Usagi, and the fact his last name's 'Kanda'._

Language notes:

Author's ramblings: _Kyaa! Why are the reviews getting less and less?!?! What am I doing wrong?! *Runs in circles* Do I need to make Yuu beg? I can do it! Why, why, WHY?! (Please ignore hysteria and review. Thank you very much.)_

_In saner words, I'm sorry I've been away for so long. Reality calls and all that jazz. Life's been hectic. I hope I'm not deluding myself by thinking people would still read this after so long… (review, please?)_

---

Yuu closed his eyes, mentally bidding farewell to the Order…

And preparing to finally face _that person _again.

---

"Halt! Security!" a couple of Finders at the waterway gate called out to Yuu. He ignored them, hoping they would just miraculously disappear. Was it too much to ask for?

"Sir Exorcist! Please stop!"

Apparently.

Yuu heaved a sigh and dug the steering pole into the bottom of the slow moving underground river, dragging the boat to a stop. How to play this one? Argh, this was going to totally wreck his reputation…

"It's Valentine's, give a guy a break," Yuu muttered 'to himself', really loudly. 'To himself' because he didn't have the usagi's MPD problem. Really loudly because Finders were hearing impaired at the best of times.

"Oh. My. God. Is it Sir _Kanda_?!"

"Oh hell. Why did we get this stupid watch tonight? The rest are partying up there and we're down here suffering the cold. And now we get some evil personified exorcist-"

Okay. Now it can't be ignored. They had to die. Yuu wasn't '_evil_ personified'. He was _awesomeness _(or sexiness, take your pick) personified.

Thud. Thud.

Okay. He'd intended to leave without causing any resentment, but somehow, he couldn't imagine these two Finders being very forgiving or _un-_resentful when they woke up.

Oh well.

Some things can't be helped, Yuu mused as the boat was sped quickly to the town at the base of Headquarters. The forged papers for a 'Raphael Lee' were tucked among the scarce belongings in the bag he'd brought. Yay for technology, or he'd have ended up walking or something.

Walking. For a few thousand miles. And swimming too.

Shudder.

It's next to impossible to keep clean on trips like that… imagine the multitude of germs in the filth on you and you wouldn't want to either. Unless you're a hobo. Which then, Yuu had nothing to say.

What, it's not a crime to be elitist! Or discriminate against certain people!

Yuu thinks.

For the time being, Yuu had much more pressing problems to concern himself with.

---

The first thing to do was destroy the boat, naturally. As soon as Yuu landed it was reduced to innocently floating driftwood. Not suspicious at all, unless you noticed all the pieces had clean cut edges and it was a huge amount of wood all at once…

Okaay… maybe it was a little suspicious. Just a little. Maybe more than a little. Oh well, what's done was done.

Hm, next… the Order would definitely send out a team to search for him, as soon as either the Usagi or Moyashi was discovered… Or the Finders… Well, Finders would probably be last, so it shouldn't be so much of a problem, but two exorcists? Yuu would really be in for it if they caught him…

Oh well, just don't get caught. Yuu made his way towards the market place.

---

"Kanda's not holing himself up again this Valentine's Day, I hope," Linalee sighed. When he went into hiding, the one to deal with all his admirers sure wasn't him. Even Allen and Lavi had somehow disappeared! So…

"Linalee-chan, uhm, I was wondering if, uh, could you, uhm, pass this to Kanda-sama, please?"

"I'll put it in his room later, Emily. No, no, it's no trouble at all!"

"Ah, Linalee-san, did you see Allen-kun? I baked him a cake! Do you think he'll like it?"

"As long as it's food, I don't think Allen has a problem with it…"

"Linalee-chan! Do you know where Lavi is? I just asked Bookman but he said he had no idea!"

How sad was this, on Valentine's Day, she was surrounded by girls all giving her stuff to pass to her friends. Excusing herself with an armful of presents, she made her way to the seventh floor. It was blissfully deserted, as if there was an invisible barrier that Kanda's reputation forged around all things that belonged to him.

"Kanda! Could you open the door? My hands are kind of full… Kanda? Kanda! Open the door or I'll open it myself! Kanda! Oh, be that way."

WHAM!

"Sorry Kanda! You're going to have to re-hinge that- Allen-kun! Wh-Why-Wha- What are you doing in Kanda's room?!?"

"Gaaah… Linalee? What happened? The last time something hit my head this hard was when Master ditched me in India…" Allen was decidedly green. It seems Cross' influence never really did wear off. Poor boy was scarred for life, it seemed.

"Good question, Allen. I have one for you. What happened between you and Kanda?" Linalee asked, trying to keep calm. What in the world was happening? Where was Kanda?

"Me and…" Allen's eyes were dazed. "Who-whe-huh? What's a 'Kanda'…?"

"Oh, forget it! Where's Lavi? Do you know?"

"Hm… Lavi, Lavi, Laaavi…heheh, sounds very 'aaah'," Allen giggled. "Where is Laaavi? I dunno…"

Okay. Kanda, missing. Allen, sanity missing. Lavi, missing. This was bad.

Linalee activated her Innocence and flung herself over the railing.

---

Elliot was sulking. As much as he may deny it, having to watch the shop while his brothers went out with their girlfriends was pure unfair. It wasn't as if he didn't have his own girlfriend. He blushed slightly as he thought of Mary.

"Could I have a look at that?" a voice brought him out of his musings. Elliot looked up to find a hooded figure at the booth, strands of ebony hair spilling out from underneath the dark green material. Elliot followed the stranger's apparent gaze and landed on a black beret.

"That's twenty-" Elliot was cut short as the customer snatched the beret and shoved the money in his hand.

"Thank you," Yuu said hurriedly before fleeing. Damn, how he hated crowds. Everyone was pushing and shoving and in the way and every moment he could swear he could feel Order agents' eyes on him.

Now to the train. Yuu always hated public toilets, but it's not like he had a choice…

---

"Brother! Kanda's gone and Allen's mad and Lavi's missing!" Linalee announced as she touched down outside Komui's office.

"Ah! Linalee-chaaan! Thank goodness! You've saved me from this slave-driver!" Komui wailed, clinging on to his sister's legs. Behind him was Reever, and behind Reever was the mountain of papers that cleverly camouflaged Komui's desk with the rest of the room, a natural process, as Komui would be quick to assure you and Reever even quicker to disprove.

"Brother! This is serious! I found Allen in Kanda's room and-"

"Oh? This sounds serious! Let's investigate right away!" Komui exclaimed, grabbing a magnifying glass. Reever sighed, left eyebrow twitching.

"And what about the documents that were due TWO YEARS AGO?!" Reever growled, grabbing Komui's collar.

"Linaleeee! Help!"

"Reever-san! Please."

Reever relented, and Komui collapsed in a happy puddle at Linalee's feet, whining about what a wonderful little sister he had.

"Brother! Kanda and Lavi are missing!" Linalee nudged Komui with her foot. He flew into the mountain of paper aka his desk. Whoops, Innocence still activated. "Sorry!"

"How long have you known?" Komui's voice came from a smaller pile that covered the Superintendent.

"Not really long… maybe five minutes?"

"In that case, we have to hurry and find Kanda. But we may already be too late…"

"Brother?"

Komui's voice was sober. "'Crow' may already have found him."

---

Yuu swore under his breath as he set his bag at his feet and gave himself a once over in the dingy mirror. If it wasn't just the really bad condition of the glass that warped his appearance, he looked quite different, with his hair hidden under the beret and simple English clothes. He tugged experimentally at the hem of the jacket, feeling awkward about its length. It was too short! How could Lavi wear such things all the time? All of Yuu's coats and the like reached past his fingertips at least.

Ah well. Short coats were more 'English', Yuu supposed. After all, the moyashi wore his uniform short too. And Yuu right now was trying to look anything but 'Japanese Exorcist' right now. Even Mugen was wrapped in brown paper, tied with twine. It had a little postage note on it. Fake, of course. Yuu decided he would tell anyone who asked that it was a package for his elderly aunt who lived in Paris, which, incidentally, was the destination of his first train. What a little old lady would do with a katana was another matter altogether.

Yuu could only pray that Crow didn't see right through him.

He walked as calmly as possible out of the toilet and fought his way through the crowd to the ticketing counter, feeling overly self conscious and very underdressed.

"The three thirty to Paris," Yuu told the ticketing officer, making the effort to change his voice. A couple of pitches higher, a very slight French accent, maybe a few years younger than he actually was. He hoped it would work.

The ticketing officer looked at him strangely, before flipping through the book in front of him, seemingly in slow motion to Yuu. "You're not French, are you?" he said conversationally.

Yuu could have unsheathed Mugen and hacked him into little bits right there and then. Instead, he took a deep breath. Like the moyashi, Yuu thought, internally shuddering at the thought. Smiling, (and Yuu could almost feel the sparkling flowery background spring up behind him), Yuu tilted his head. "How did you know?"

The ticketing officer swelled with pride. Yuu scoffed quietly. Airhead. This type was always pleased to show off. "You don't look French. Very exotic," he added. "You have a sister?"

Yuu felt the smile freeze and start to slip off his face. He quickly continued the conversation. "No sister. But you're right. My mother is Chinese, you see," Yuu explained. All Asians looked the same to Europeans, so he was sure this mild difference was next to unnoticeable to this guy.

The officer nodded sagely. "Okay, well, here's your ticket."

Yuu had to stop himself from tearing the ticket out of the officer's hand. Finally!

"Thank you," Yuu said, heading to the platform.

Fifteen minutes to three thirty.

---

Linalee flitted through the Order, making her way to the underground river, hoping she wasn't too late. 'Don't go by the gate,' Komui had warned her. 'Or Crow might see you. The river is your best bet, and then I would say head to the bridge (1). If you see Allen or Lavi on the way, best bring them with you. We don't know what Kanda is thinking now. Good luck.'

Allen was still very confused when Linalee had gone back to Kanda's room. He was happily munching through the entire Valentine's Day gift pile which Linalee had brought (and dropped on the floor in her hurry), Kanda and Lavi's included. He was pouting now, as Linalee had forcefully confiscated all the goodies and dragged him through the Order at high speed. Timcampy had its teeth firmly clamped on Allen's shirt as Linalee whizzed past bewildered Finders.

"Oh no," she whispered, stopping abruptly, sending Allen flying headfirst into the only remaining boat. Loud protests were raised.

"Ah! Allen? What are you doing here!? Never mind that, get off me!"

"Oh hello Laaavi! How have you been, old buddy old pal? Have you happened to see a 'Kanda' by any chance? Princess Linalee is looking for one!"

Linalee could've sworn Lavi turned three shades paler in the span of two seconds. He grabbed Allen by the shoulders and shook him violently.

"Allen! Linalee! You gotta listen to me! Yuu-chan has been possessed or something! H-he-he was _smiling, _an-and-and he was being- he was being _**nice**_!" Lavi practically screamed, flailing his arms wildly as if nearly taking Allen's head off would somehow get his point across better.

"You saw Kanda?" Linalee asked hopefully. Lavi wailed loudly and cradled his head in his arms, rocking back and forth, back and forth, nodding ever so slightly. Allen patted Lavi's head with his hand and offered the redhead Timcampy. Tim sank his teeth into Allen's glove and more screaming ensued.

Eleven minutes to three thirty.

---

Elliot was bored again. After that weird cloaked person, there had been no customers. He didn't even know why they even kept the shop open today. Such a waste of time…

"Excuse me; have you seen a Japanese man, about this height? Black eyes, long black hair, and a bad attitude, probably carrying a briefcase of some sort?" a blonde guy with a bowl cut asked professionally. Elliot blinked.

"Uh, there was this person who came, who might fit that description. He went that way," Elliot said, waving in the general direction of the train station.

"Thank you very much," the blonde said, dropping a few coins on the counter. Turning, Elliot realised the blonde actually had a braid down to about mid back. He blinked, and wondered where this new stranger had disappeared to, not even noticing the four shadows that had accompanied him.

Seven minutes to three thirty.

---

"Kanda what?!" Allen deadpanned as he and Lavi ran to the bridge. Linalee was going to check the train station, but would have to deactivate her Innocence once she was too close to the village. It would be kind of stupid to let Crow catch them here, after all.

"He's gone insane," Lavi said with conviction. "He was… Ah! I can't say it! But he was very, very insane."

"He'll pay… I think I've lost part of my memory because of that guy…" Allen clenched his left hand into a fist. Lavi nodded. The world was probably a scarier place with Yuu acting all weird like that.

He had no idea how much worse it would become.

"But Lavi, if it's Crow, then wouldn't Kanda be in my situation when we got off the Ark?"

Lavi wasn't sure what he should say.

Five minutes to three thirty.

---

Linalee rushed to the ticket booth. Thank the heavens she'd not seen any suspicious cloaked figures hanging around.

"Excuse me! Have you seen my… brother?! I'm looking for him and I think he might have bought a ticket to…" Linalee trailed off when she realised she had no idea where Kanda might be headed. The ticketing officer looked at her with something like pity in his eyes.

"Sorry, we just had a change of shift. John might know, but he just left. Don't take it too hard, 'kay? I'm free on Saturday nights if you want to talk or something…" Linalee started walking off. If Komui found out, there would be nothing left of the poor guy to even pity.

"Hey! Miss! You wanna talk to John right? John! Did you see this girl's brother?"

"Hm? The half Asian guy on the three thirty to Paris? He said he didn't have a sister!"

Linalee spun round.

"What platform!?" she demanded. The bewildered officers pointed towards platform 5. Linalee took off like the wind.

Two minutes to three thirty.

---

"Allen, Lavi, Kanda's on the three thirty to Paris, from platform 5." Linalee said to the golem hidden in the collar of her shirt as she dashed up the stairs. "I have maybe a minute. I hope I make it."

"Will do, Linalee. We'll be on that train when it passes."

Linalee stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh no…"

"Linalee? What's wrong?"

"The train came early."

Three thirty.

The bridge where the exorcists (illegally) board their trains by (suicidal) jumping off it onto the _moving_ train, (from volume one/ two if you read the manga), which, apparently, is _normal_ for them.

_Ah, I need to know if you guys want a longer or shorter version of Inheritance. Longer by maybe 3 chapters, shorter by 1. Please tell me in your review and I'll go with popular sentiment._


	5. Pursuit

_**Inheritance**_

_**Pursuit **_

_**Disclaimer:**____I solemnly swear I own nothing but the plot, my laptop, and the smugness that I have taken Kanda's ego to a whole new level._

_Kanda Yuu is in for some big changes in his life. They start with Valentine's Day, the Lunar New Year, a trip to Japan (aka Akuma central), a Moyashi, an Usagi, and the fact his last name's 'Kanda'._

---

"Allen, Lavi, Kanda's on the three thirty to Paris, from platform 5." Linalee said to the golem hidden in the collar of her shirt as she dashed up the stairs. "I have maybe a minute. I hope I make it."

"Will do, Linalee. We'll be on that train when it passes."

Linalee stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh no…"

"Linalee? What's wrong?"

"The train came early."

Three thirty.

---

Yuu settled into the chair, struggling to keep awake. Falling asleep in a public cabin was just asking for trouble, especially with Crow and perverts lurking around. He shook his head a little, to dispel the dreams trying to creep into his eyes. His cabin was nearly empty, with two very badly dressed men and a little blonde kid with a mask. They reeked, as if they hadn't had baths for… a very long time. Hobos, Yuu scoffed mentally. He hoped the train ride would pass quickly. Yuu didn't like to wait. If he got up and paced the car, he would suddenly feel very claustrophobic, and his hands itched to draw Mugen and slash his way out. If he sat perfectly still and straight, like he usually did, he would start to feel stiff and restless.

"If I can get past the bridge, I should be fine," Yuu muttered.

"Hm? Did you say something, mister?" the little boy asked. Yuu started, nearly taking the kid's head off with a wild, defensive swing of his arm. God, how he hated little kids.

"Eeze! Get back here!" One of the men called out. The boy trotted back to them obediently. The men gave Yuu a dirty look. _What d'ya do that for, huh?_

Yuu returned it with a frosty cool stare. _You're at fault. You let him disturb me. _He then switched to an expression of bored indifference. Why was it so easy for him to make enemies wherever he went? He could care less for other people. If they could leave him in peace, he'd gladly leave them alone too.

"Hey, do you play poker?" the man with a beanie asked.

---

"Shoot," Lavi turned to Allen. "Allen, the train's early!"

"That train?" Allen asked, pointing to the black column of smoke, right in front of them. Lavi's eyes widened.

Yes, that train! Jump! Now!" Lavi shouted, throwing himself off the bridge, feeling the long familiar rush of air as he landed heavily on top of the passenger cars. With a thump that Lavi felt through the metal, he could tell Allen had made it safely just behind him.

"Great, now we just have to get in and look for Yuu-kun!" Lavi shouted over the relative wind. Allen nodded, and reached for the hatch in the middle of the roof.

---

"No," Yuu replied, trying very hard to be civil and lay low. _I also have no intention of learning either,_ Yuu thought to himself.

Beanie's eyes narrowed. "Too good for the likes of us, buddy?" he said it like a challenge. Like a threat.

Yuu didn't like someone trying to threaten him. Especially homeless street trash like this.

"Obviously," Yuu growled. "I'm way above your level."

"Prove it."

Yuu scoffed and pulled his beret lower, leaning into the seat. He leaned against the wall like he was about to fall asleep, and he _was_.

"Leave that guy alone. He's chicken." Yuu heard the other guy, the dirty blonde one, say. His blood seemed to ignite in indignation, evaporating in his veins with a long, slow hiss. _This scum insulted the Kanda blood. Kill them for their insolence, _it whispered malevolently as it rushed under his skin.

"You _do not_ want to anger me," Yuu heard himself say. He was almost surprised to hear his own voice seething so. He felt cold and distant, almost like a dream, or a movie which he had no taste for. His eyes opened, and he saw the two urchins backing off, with something like fear, no, not quite fear, more _wariness_, in their eyes. Somehow, as if he were standing three steps away as a spectator, Yuu knew that something about him had changed, could be seen to have changed.

If he had been a spectator, he might have backed away from himself too.

Yuu's eyes had changed from midnight glacier blue to feral, predatory amber.

_Yes. Kill. Destroy. Bend them to your will. It's easy. You know how to do it. It's in you, _Yuu's blood whispered temptingly. It seemed to make perfect sense. No one would miss two homeless bums and another orphaned kid.

_**I'll **__decide what to do or not to do, _Yuu thought fiercely. He had control of himself, not some voice in his head. Come to think about it, voices in your head usually meant you were insane. Yuu frowned. Was he becoming like Lavi? Please, no.

His blood, voice, whatever, kept silent. It didn't burn through his veins now, in fact, it had become sluggish, almost, as if sulking that Yuu hadn't given in to the urge to kill. He felt suddenly tired.

"Just leave me alone," he muttered, and dropped into an uneasy sleep.

---

"Excuse me, sirs, but you can't enter through the roof like that!" a guy in a red and gold tasselled uniform was shouting at them. Allen smiled at him and dropped into the car after Lavi.

"Actually," Allen said to him, pointing to the rose cross on their uniforms. "We can." Allen stopped himself from giggling. He felt slightly tipsy, like being on sugar-high, ever since the dancing stars in tutus pranced around his head after seeing Mugen… Wait… not good.

"Lavi, I'm not thinking properly anymore…" Allen muttered. He still felt like dragging the 'aah' in Lavi's name. So fun. Laaaaaaavi. Laa-la-la-la-laaaaaaaavi. Tee hee.

"Come on, Allen. I don't think Yuu-kun would be in the first class carriage if he was trying to avoid Crow," Lavi put a hand on Allen's shoulder, steering the younger exorcist out with a half explanatory, half apologetic smile to the conductor.

"Bookman Junior Lavi. Allen Walker. Stop where you are."

Allen recognised the voice even before he saw the reflection in the glass panel of the door in front of him. He grinned. Lavi swore.

"Hi Onion, I mean, Chink… I mean Link! Yeah, that's right. Link!" Allen said brightly. "Did the princess send you too?"

Lavi could have whacked himself in the head with his Hammer.

---

Crow.

Yuu woke suddenly, but none but him would have known he was awake. His breathing didn't change, his body didn't move and his eyelids hadn't so much as flickered. But he could hear the footsteps of someone who went through countless battles, felt the adrenaline rush, kept control of the chaos around him and survived. Two such people.

Yuu was on his feet the second the door swung open.

"Kanda Yuu, you have a choice to either come with us peacefully or we will take you by force," the closest figure in a hood announced, looming over him.

Yuu felt the flood of adrenaline hit him like a tidal wave. He wouldn't need to go easy on Crow. He grinned like a madman, and could see it in the glass opposite, behind the two cloaked figures, where the three homeless people cowered in the corner.

"Force it is," said the other Crow, and the fight started.

---

In the next car, there were two black cloaks. Another two were back in the first car. Next to them was Link, also Crow, and Allen, who was probably pretty much useless right now. Lavi sighed. So not good.

"Hey Link! Would you rather be a table or a chair or a lamp or a piano or a bookshelf?"

Link sighed in irritation. "None of the above, Walker. Your grammar is atrocious. Now would you please stop your nonsense?"

Allen grinned. "Laaaaavi, what do you think? I think a piano is best!" Lavi turned his eyes towards heaven.

"God, if you really exist, please forgive what I'm going to do next," Lavi prayed aloud.

"Huh? How come Laaavi's talking to the ceiling?" Allen wondered to Link. Lavi's elbow connected with the back of Allen's skull.

"Sorry, buddy, but I really can't take it anymore…" Lavi apologized to the white haired exorcist who was clutching his head in pain. Silver blue eyes looked at him accusingly. Lavi felt like he'd just kicked a puppy. A puppy that could turn its left arm into a huge ass sword and beat the heck out of him if it felt like it.

"What was that for, Lavi?" Allen asked, smiling, in that dangerously nice voice that he used when he was actually really, really pissed.

"Uhm… ah…" Lavi saw the two Crow in the next car lunge for the guy wearing a beige coat with a black beret and scarf. "Look!" Lavi shouted, pointing. "Poor innocent guy about to be beaten up by Crow!"

"What?!" Allen's attention was diverted. Lavi took advantage of Link's confusion to Allen's shift and charged through the door, dragging Allen with him.

"Rescue him," Lavi hissed into Allen's ear, but he needn't have. Allen was already gone, putting himself between Crow and the civilian.

"What do you think you're doing Bookman Junior?!"

Uh oh. Link didn't stay shocked for long, it seemed. Lavi conveniently tripped backwards into the doors, knocking Link out of the car and 'collapsing' at the foot of the doors. That should stop him for a while.

That guy is putting up a pretty good fight, Lavi thought to himself, watching the smaller Crow get flung into the opposite wall from a spinning kick. It's almost as if he's fought quite a few times before.

Hold that though. That couldn't be…

"Watch it!" Allen shouted as a blade shot out from under the bigger Crow's cloak, aiming straight for the civilian's head. In slow motion, the blade pierced through the black beret, spearing it through, embedding itself in the train wall. A cascade of raven blue-black hair fell over beige clad shoulders, and very pissed midnight eyes betrayed the identity of the incognito exorcist.

"Kanda?!" Allen gaped. Lavi let his head thud against the doors. Kanda glared at Allen before he disappeared out a broken window. The smaller Crow followed after, not quite as effortlessly as Kanda as the other twisted Allen's arm behind his back. Lavi thought he needn't have bothered. Allen was too shocked to go anywhere.

Wham! Lavi was flung forward as Link finally threw the doors open.

"I hope," he said grimly. "You realise what you've gotten into, Walker, Bookman Junior."

Lavi giggled nervously. He did.

---

Yuu regretted the decision to go up the roof almost immediately. He had little, annoying scratches on his hands, which would make holding Mugen tomorrow hell. Two years ago, it wouldn't have taken even an hour to completely heal over. He might have little affection for the Order, but it was useful agreeing to some of their experiments.

The train was picking up speed, he couldn't stand without being knocked over by the wind, not for lack of trying, though. At least the Crow was having the same problems, if not more, being smaller than Yuu.

Don't fight an opposing force, use it for your own gain. Yuu stood and ran, jumping straight over the surprised Crow and landing on the next car, the wind making him even faster. Yuu cursed himself for being such an idiot for leaving his things behind, even as he noticed the end of the train coming alarmingly quickly.

Opening in the roof, come on, come _on!_ It had to be here somewhere. There had to be an emergency exit, or rather, for him, entrance, even within the last three cars to the end. The Crow had followed his example and was gaining on him fast.

There! A faint outline, black against grey. Yuu lunged for it, one hand outstretched, yanking at the unused latch, which groaned in protest as he finally managed to get it open. The Crow barreled into his side, flinging him across the tin roof. The hatch slammed shut on Yuu's right wrist, stopping him from falling over the side with a loud crack.

"SH-" Yuu began to swear as he scrambled to get into the car before the Crow could recover. Holding his right arm gingerly near his chest, he dashed to the dividing doors, banging them open with his shoulder. Cries of alarm were being raised by passengers who were rudely woken up by a foreign young man charging through their carriage, occasionally stumbling over a haphazard suitcase then swearing in every language he knew.

"Yuu-chan!" Lavi shouted from some obscure corner. Yuu wasn't looking. He could see the dark shapes of the bundled Mugen and the abused suitcase on the overhead rack. Without checking his speed, he lunged for the rack, left foot touching the seat momentarily as he swiped his things off with his good hand, catching the big Crow on the back of the head with Mugen while regaining his balance. Yuu would've liked to take credit for that, really, but the lethargy had kicked back in and he was swaying with the effort of just staying on his feet.

Suddenly the blood in his veins turned to liquid fire again and every cell in his body screamed in agony. Yuu stumbled forward, vision fading to black in spots, choking to breath and trying not to crumble. In the midst of his hazy vision, Yuu saw movement as the Crow recovered, reaching to stop the exorcist from hitting the floor face first, perhaps, but the second the big hand closed on Yuu's shoulder, a feral scream ripped from his throat and Yuu fell away into the black.

---

Lavi shuddered again, and not from the cold, even though it was pretty chilly in February. Allen was still not quite right in the head yet, singing 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' while twining flowers into Kanda's hair. Kanda was still unconscious, and after whatever it was that could make the Japanese exorcist scream like that, Lavi wasn't wishing for his friend to wake up too soon.

That scream touched some kind of primal instinct inside Lavi's gut. It was like some sort of wavelength that made all of the Order people in the carriage react, ready to fight some sort of danger. Even Allen had snapped out of his daze to crouch defensively, and it was all Lavi could do to not let his knees buckle as his hand reached for the Hammer. He had been _scared_. Scared of Yuu-chan, who obviously was the one in pain? The Crow holding Kanda had nearly dropped him. The ragtag group in the same car had also sensed it, and had frozen in the corner. Later, while leaving, Lavi thought he saw the one with the beanie blue in the face from not breathing.

Yuu-chan, Yuu-chan, Lavi thought as Allen braided another daisy into the long black tresses. Just what's happening to you exactly?

---

_YM: Gaaah! I'm so sorry for the super long lag time since my last post. I've had sooooo much crap going on. Well, now hols are here, I'll post more frequently. *buried in a landslide of holiday homework* Aargh, maybe not. But I'll try!_

_P.S. I think I'll raise the rating to T, cuz I realise I swear a lot, and there's a lot of violence and (not quite as much but it's still there) sexual ref._

_Please review my lovely readers! Hearts for you, and many, many thanks for continuing to read __Inheritance, even after all my lagging and etc.!!!_


	6. Caged

_**Inheritance**_

_**Caged **_

_**Disclaimer:**____I solemnly swear I own nothing but the plot, my laptop, and the smugness that I have taken Kanda's ego to a whole new level._

_Kanda Yuu is in for some big changes in his life. They start with Valentine's Day, the Lunar New Year, a trip to Japan (aka Akuma central), a Moyashi, an Usagi, and the fact his last name's 'Kanda'._

_Warnings: _Graphic violence & gore. And more swearing.

---

Yuu-chan, Yuu-chan, Lavi thought as Allen braided another daisy into the long black tresses. Just what's happening to you exactly?

---

Lavi was reading, if looking at the same page for half an hour while never going past the first sentence could be called reading. Allen had been dragged to the nurse's ward the second he stepped into the Order. He was promptly diagnosed with a concussion and Lavi was even more promptly told off for letting an injured person wander around. A few carefully worded sentences and misleading implications and Lavi was in the clear for being out of the Order without permission. Allen as well.

What sucked was that no amount of cajoling was going to get Kanda, Lavi slapped himself mentally, _Yuu-chan_ out of the interrogation room. And no amount of pleading or puppy dog eyes was going to get him into that room either. At least they let Gramps in, Lavi thought with a sigh. I can get what happened from the old panda. Still, curiosity niggled at the young Bookman's mind. The Order kept their Exorcists under close watch, and didn't like it when even one was unaccounted for. It must've been utter mayhem when FOUR went missing, one with an over 100 percent synchronization rate, one crystal type and the other two with over 75 percent. Of course, Lavi was hoping they didn't notice Linalee had been out of Headquarters at the time but wishful thinking didn't always work. (Just like how he'd wished for countless beauties in various countries on various missions to fall head over heels for him. Needless to say, they didn't. What a waste.)

"Lavi!" A voice brought him out of his musings and he slipped a signature clumsy smile on. He needn't have bothered. It was Linalee.

"Were you caught?" he mouthed, glancing round the room warily. There shouldn't be any listening devices in here, but still… Linalee caught his eye and shook her head. She knew very well what happened to Exorcists who tried to run away from the order. From what Lavi understood, she'd done it before, a long time ago. Of course she'd be worried for Yuu.

"Brother wants to talk to you. Come with me," her tone was cheery, but as Lavi walked past, she turned and it dropped to a warning whisper. "Be careful what you say. We're going to look."

"Let me put this book back first, kay?" Lavi said in an equally light tone. "Look?" he whispered questioningly back when his lips were obscured by the book. Linalee nodded ever so slightly.

"Let's go," she said. _It's Kanda. What else_?Lavi nodded back. So Komui did have recording devices in the interrogation room. Yay.

---

The first thing Yuu felt as he came around was weight, as if he was buried miles under the surface of the Earth and all that stone and time and sorrow were pressing down on him. He gasped for air and heard the tap-tap of polished business shoes on the floor over his strained breathing. _Restraining talismans_, Yuu thought dryly, _double duty, limiting movement and power. Very clever. _He couldn't see but he could feel Crow auras, very wary and warrior-like. Some were more intellectual, some were more violent but all were not inclined to pity him. And one, Yuu frowned, at the far corner, different, less wary, more interest, most detached and yet most familiar. Before he could place it, the person closest started talking.

"Kanda Yuu." Pause. "Would you like to explain yourself?"

It took some time before Yuu's managed to form words with a mouth that seemed to have forgotten how to work. Did they mummify him with those pieces of paper?

"..No…" A struggled breath. "Why?"

Also, Yuu thought dryly, rolling his eyes under the layer of talismans. This definitely fell under the category of a 'too long and personal an explanation for him to even start on without sounding like a dying asthmatic dog while at it'. One of the many 'reasons not to engage in pointless conversation' (they could get you into superfluous amounts of trouble), copyright of Kanda Yuu. Of course, he didn't use this one as often as 'talking to this person might lower my (insert random stat here, usually intelligence, reputation or awesomeness), so ignore~', or 'this person is wasting my time' or 'this person… IS SO ****ING **** ****ING ME OFF!! CAN'T YOU GET LOST?!?! NO, I DON'T WANT TO BUY A *****ING *****Y _DRESS_!!! I'M A ****ING _**GUY**_! ARE YOU ****ING BLIND?!?! Oh, yeah, I know I'm awesome, hot, badass, etc. thanks. STILL!!!! GO AWAY.' He thankfully used the last one with decreasing frequency.

"Oh, so we can assume you were trying to run away?" the tapping shoes had stopped in place.

"It might beeasier to talkifyougetthiscrapoffame," Yuu managed with much effort. He took another shallow breath. "_Now _would… be nice."

A chuckle. "I'm afraid we can't do that, Mr. Kanda." Yuu twitched. That sounded so weird. "You're under high security surveillance as of attempting escape."

"Wha-?"

"So, do you feel like talking yet, Mr. Kanda?"

… All this 'mister' thing was making Yuu feel like some old uncle (1) in some provision shop. And talking to some arrogant jackass who he couldn't even see was similarly not good for his mind. If Lavi was 10 on the 'people who piss Yuu off' meter, this guy was in the mid-20's and going up really fast.

"Trying," Yuu said dryly. "Difficult." Though speaking was getting easier as he got used to the insanely heavy pieces of paper.

Click, click, went the dress shoes on the stone floor. Another chuckle. Oh, he just hit 30 on the scale. Assuming it's a 'he', of course. You never know…

"Then perhaps your little friends might be more willing to talk."

'Little friends'? Yuu couldn't stop the loud bark of laughter from that.

"Hah, you think I care?" and Yuu resided into snickering. The image of a packet of bean sprouts and a rabbit with an eye patch in an interrogation chamber was just too amusing.

"You realise Allen Walker was let off probation not too long ago?"

"What do I care what happens to the moyashi? I didn't ask him to come interfere."

Yuu could tell the annoying talking guy was losing a bit of confidence from the unexpected reaction. Yuu was sure the moyashi would be fine, regardless of anything he said. The Order wouldn't dare to do anything to an Exorcist with a General's level of synchronisation and ability to teleport, ah, utilise the big white Rubik's cube floating above headquarters.

"And the Bookman Junior-"

"Good riddance of the super annoying usagi," Yuu scoffed. Bookman _Senior_ would kill them if Lavi was rendered useless. No worries there.

"Linalee Lee-" Yuu's heart nearly stopped with shock.

"What? She wasn't there!" Yuu said, maybe a bit too forcefully, because the smugness in the talking guy came back.

"Oh, she was. Even if she was not, she would know of your doings. Yes, why don't we call her in now?"

"Like hell I'd tell her. She's got nothing to do with this."

"Then why are you so adamant in defending her, Mr. Kanda?"

There he went with the mister thing again. This guy was really, really starting to make Yuu mad. In both senses of the word.

"Because she's innocent." _And a girl who's already terrified of you lot_, Yuu added silently, because he didn't think anything good might come out of saying it.

"You would say that even if she weren't, am I right?"

Yuu didn't know what to say to that. 'No' would seem like a defensive lie and 'Yes' would just cause more problems. He just gritted his teeth and wished very hard he could punch the guy a couple of hundred times.

"Why don't we invite Miss Lee in here," the interrogator ordered with a theatrical flair. The room wasn't cold anymore, and Yuu managed to curl his hand into a fist. _I'll kill them if they actually do it, I swear I will._

"Don't you dare," Yuu hissed, straining against the talismans. The interrogator laughed.

"And what are you going to do about it, Mr. Kanda?"

Yuu felt any semblance of control snap and the last thought he had on his mind was _'Kill'._

---

"Nice, Komui," Lavi whistled. The Supervisor had set up a projector on a wall that miraculously had been cleared of papers. The screen had been split into four sections, two corners that covered the room, a top view and a side view. Komui must have taken a small cut out of the Science Divisions budget, those cameras were good. Lavi could even make out Panda Gramps in the corner nearest to the door, all but obscured in shadows. Yuu had the same funny papers that Allen had had on his arm when he last talked to General Cross, except he was practically mummified by them. The patterns were also a bit different, Lavi recalled.

"Is Allen cleared from the hospital yet?" Komui asked absently, eyes trained on the screen. Lavi shook his head, before he remembered you couldn't hear that.

"Not yet," he voiced. "Concussion." He stopped as Yuu shifted under the strips of paper. The Crow nearest to him was talking.

"Oh, so can we assume you were trying to run away?"

"It might beeasier to talkifyougetthiscrapoffame. Now would… be nice."

Lavi chuckled. How like Yuu to swear under interrogation. The only disturbing thing would be if he was joking even the slightest bit there. Lavi shivered and missed the first part of the next line.

"-attempting escape." The Crow said. Beside him, Linalee stiffened.

"Wha-"

"So, do you feel like talking yet, Mr. Kanda?"

"Trying. Difficult." Lavi got the impression Yuu was annoyed or tired or both.

"Then perhaps you little friends would be more willing to talk," the Crow said condescendingly. Even Linalee couldn't suppress a nervous giggle at that. How old did this guy think Yuu was? Five?

"-do I care what happens to the moyashi? I didn't ask him to come interfere."

Allen had your well-being in his concussed mind, you know, Lavi chided mentally.

"And the Bookman Junior-"

Lavi perked up.

"Good riddance of the super annoying usagi."

"Ouch!" Lavi muttered. How cruel, Yuu-chan! Lavi protested mentally.

"Linalee Lee-"

Linalee drew a short breath.

"What? She wasn't back there!"

Yuu-chan, Yuu-chan, why is Linalee the only one you're nice to? Lavi could just imagine Yuu's 'are you stupid' face and the "Che" he'd get as an answer.

The Crow gave some nonsense that Yuu seemed to buy, because he growled protest. Not clever, Yuu-chan, you just gave him a weak spot. But for all Yuu did know, Linalee wasn't involved in his 'rescue mission'.

"You would say that even if she weren't, am I right?"

Yuu fell silent, and he was visibly pissed. Lavi shook his head. Stupid Crow didn't know Yuu wasn't one to break down and confess like that.

"Why don't we invite Miss Lee here?" The Crow seemed to be enjoying riling Yuu up.

"Don't you dare," Yuu's voice had dropped into a dangerous, icy quiet.

"Oh no," Komui muttered, standing. "Linalee, get Kanda's bag!'

Linalee dashed out of the office, activating her Dark Boots.

"Meet me at the basement stairs!" Komui shouted after her.

"I'll come!" Lavi offered quickly. Komui whirled round.

"No, you have no authorization to go down to that level, not to mention you are already under suspicion for being out of the Order without notice. You will stay here," Komui ordered before striding out of the door.

"And what are you going to do about it, Mr. Kanda?" the Crow taunted.

Yuu snarled and threw his weight against the talisman papers holding him back. Lavi felt his blood run cold again, like the time on the train, and cold, paralyzing fear made him fall back into the armchair Komui just vacated. The Crow interrogating Yuu fell back a step. Yuu struggled and Lavi heard a loud 'SHRKK' and saw the papers rip. And then he saw the Crow get brutally massacred.

Shit, Yuu was fast. One second in the chair, the next couldn't even be seen. This was a lot faster than on any mission Lavi had been on with Yuu. Intestines splattered against the camera on the ceiling and Lavi winced.

I've seen worse, Lavi told himself sternly. All those wars. Why should I be getting squeamish from just this?

Because this isn't a fight. It's a slaughter. And it could've been you, the detached observer part of his mind told him calmly.

Gramps is still in there! Lavi realised with a jolt as a severed am flew across the room and a Crow screamed in pain. A loud crack as another Crow's torso contorted in a way that told Lavi his spine was snapped into two. That one didn't even get the chance to scream. Lavi closed his eyes, feeling sick, but the screaming went on and on and part of him would rather the screaming than the silence.

Then, the last scream ended with a gurgle, and dreading to, but not able to stop himself, Lavi looked at the screen to see a blood-soaked Yuu calmly withdraw his hand from the man's chest where a large gaping hole went straight through the lung and out the other side.

"Now, now, young one. Calm down," came a familiar voice. A breath Lavi didn't know he was holding escaped. Gramps was still alive! Yuu looked up, startled to hear the old man. He dropped the dead Crow and disappeared again.

"No," Lavi breathed. Gramps couldn't die just yet. Yuu reappeared in front of the old man, hesitating a second before his arm drew back—

"KANDA, THIS IS AN ORDER. STOP!!!"

Yuu whirled to face the new threat. Komui stood in the doorway and at his feet was the black shadow of Yuu's bag, split wide open. Komui was shaking slightly, Lavi noted, and had both hands behind his back. Yuu seemed unimpressed, and for the second he stood staring at Komui, the Supervisor flung something at him. It came apart in midair, sending a cloud of white to engulf Yuu. Komui didn't hesitate, opening a bottle of water and crossing the room in a few strides to dump it on Yuu's head.

The cloud settled enough for Lavi to make out a soaked Yuu coughing and waving the remaining dust thing away. He looked up.

"What the hell, stupid Supervisor?"

Komui lowered the empty bottle.

"So, Kanda-kun," Komui pulled down his glasses just a bit and looked deadly serious. "Are you going to tell us the whole story this time?" He made a sweeping gesture around the room and Yuu followed the path of his arm with only slight surprise.

"Damn," Yuu muttered, seeing the carnage. His own clothes were drenched but the water Komui poured wasn't enough to wash the red off.

"Damn!" this time with a bit more force. He whirled on Komui.

"Fine! Don't blame me if you get a heart attack, nosy dumbass Supervisor! But, before that, I have…" Yuu's eyes glinted malevolently. "… some conditions."

---

(1)- Uhm, reference to how Asians refer to any random people they meet as 'uncle' or 'auntie' if they're middle-aged. If such an thing exists in the 21st century, I'm sure it happens in the 19th.

_My wishlist: reviews, reviews, time, reviews, to improve, reviews, reviews, reviews. In increasing order. Please?__*shot*_

_Shorter waiting time this round. It's a miracle! And a long chappie too! Uhm… please review more? I'll write when I get time, I promise! *shot again*_


	7. Speculations

_**Inheritance**_

_**Speculations**_

_**Disclaimer:**__I solemnly swear I own nothing but the plot, my laptop, and the smugness that I have taken Kanda's ego to a whole new level._

_Kanda Yuu is in for some big changes in his life. They start with Valentine's Day, the Lunar New Year, a trip to Japan (aka Akuma central), a Moyashi, an Usagi, and the fact his last name's 'Kanda'._

_---_

Language notes:

_Chichi-ue_: Very respectful term for Father used during the feudal era if from a noble house/ the person in question has much power, etc.

_-pyon: _Honorific, more of a term of endearment/ nickname. Usually only females use it. The Earl and Road use it for Tyki. (Though the book version is '-pon', I think '-pyon' is cuter.)

---

"Fine! Don't blame me if you get a heart attack, nosy dumbass Supervisor! But, before that, I have…" Yuu's eyes glinted malevolently. "… some conditions."

---

So, once again they were in Komui's office, only this time, Bookman Sr. was there. And this time, Kanda was completely defacing Komui's door, carving symbols inch-deep into the wood while muttering under his breath. Linalee winced as he dragged Mugen's tip in an elaborate swirl across the doorframe, making the wood screech. She didn't miss how Lavi refused to look in Kanda's direction, or the worried, dark glances Bookman and her brother exchanged when they thought she wasn't looking. It wasn't exactly easy to ignore the fact Kanda's clothes were crusted brown and wet with red…

"There," Kanda announced, straightening and sheathing Mugen in one graceful motion. Linalee frowned. Was Kanda always that… impressive?

"Bookman, you know what day it was today," Kanda stated, matter-of-factly. "Komui, only if you've been keeping track of old customs."(1) "We still do in Japan. (2) The first day of the Lunar New Year is-was," Kanda corrected himself. "Today." (3)

Komui raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Kanda took it as a sign to continue.

"As you know, I come from a very old family line that goes back 30 generations, originating from China. About 27 generations ago, the head of the family decided to move to Japan and since then, our clan has gained much power…" Kanda paused, something unidentifiable burning in the depth of his midnight blue eyes. "And all that load of bullshit."

Nobody said anything. It didn't feel right to.

"Moving on," Kanda said with uncharacteristic calm, Linalee had been half expecting an outburst there and then. "You may also have noticed I can do normally impossible things, for example, jump off the top of a rather tall building and still survive." Kanda caught Komui's eyes. "Even before the Lotus." Komui's gaze flickered.

"Not to say of course, the other Exorcists can't do some stupid things too," Kanda smirked. "But I don't think they have night vision or perfect depth perception. Among other things. Just some of the perks."

Linalee cast a cursory glance to Komui. This seemed to be the first time he heard of anything of Kanda's 'night vision' or anything of the sort, but if he was surprised, he hid it well. Lavi still didn't look Kanda in the eyes.

"Roughly 15 years ago, the Head of the Kanda family died. That person was my _chichi-ue_, and now, I am the rightful Head. However, I was underage and therefore my inheritance would be withheld until I came of age." Kanda's presence was overwhelming even though his tone was mild. "Today."

"Any particular reason for it to be today?" Bookman asked softly.

"I turn '21'. In my line, that's when we come of age," Kanda shrugged. "I'm 19 now… Do the math."(4)

For the first time since Linalee left the office to fetch Kanda's bag, Lavi gave a ghost of a smile. "Never thought I'd ever hear Yuu-chan say the word 'math' as long as I lived…" he mumbled, trying to sound light-hearted. It wasn't working.

"Presuming I cannot claim my inheritance by a certain time, I will be disowned and disinherited-"

"I don't really see a problem with that, Kanda-kun," Komui said. Kanda looked vaguely annoyed with being interrupted.

"And thus, my next of kin would have the duty to take on the position, as well as hunt me down and have me executed for blood treachery," Kanda finished. "So you can see why I need to get back to Japan, Komui. And I trust-" he paused to let his words take on the weight of the silence that hung in the room. "That none of you will repeat what you have heard in this room tonight to anyone or anything, and that you, Komui, will have the necessary arrangements for me to disappear without alarm tomorrow morning. I'll also be taking some of the things from your lab, not that you'd notice, anyway."

Suddenly, Kanda seemed to have worn himself out with so many words. He turned to leave, nodding acknowledgement to Komui and Bookman before shutting the door gently. The carved words had filled out the second he had touched the handle.

"He's not telling us everything," Bookman commented, as soon as Kanda's footsteps had faded completely. "Prudent boy." He glanced at Lavi, who'd sighed audibly when Kanda had left the room. He'd have a word with his successor later, but first, it would seem that Komui wished to have a word.

"Get some rest, Lavi. I need you up early tomorrow," Bookman told the redhead. Lavi lurched to his feet and headed for the door. "I think you might also want to turn in soon, Linalee-san," Bookman ushered politely. Linalee took her cue and exited with a quiet 'goodnight' that both men returned.

"I never thought for one moment Kanda-kun was going to spill his life story and cry his eyes out like a heroine in a really bad drama," Komui said dryly, earning a bemused chuckle from Bookman. "He doesn't really seem the type, does he?"

"Definitely not," Bookman replied wryly. "Though I believe that is not the reason you wished to discus with me in private, Komui."

"Quite right. Do the records say anything about… such traits in a family line?"

Bookman considered it for a while. "There are records of alchemy attempted on humans about 3 centuries back in China, however, the country in question is highly xenophobic and thus the findings were never confirmed, not to mention alchemy at that period was extremely crude."

"Do you think that's it?"

Bookman said nothing. Komui sighed, and jotted it down absently.

"Could it be anything else?"

"… It could, but this is the most plausible. The other two possibilities border on ridiculous."

Komui shrugged. "Might as well hear everything."

"One, again being difficult to confirm, seeing as the location is Japan, shrine servants of pagan gods are said to be granted blessings by their masters, as well as abilities to better protect the shrine."

Komui looked cynical but waved Bookman to continue.

"Two, somehow they are related to some mythical creature or another and as either guardians or hunters have evolved over time to better deal with these. Given 30 generations, it should be enough time."

Komui sighed again. "Thank you Bookman. I'll see what I can do."

The little wizened old man hopped down from his perch on the mountain of papers. "My pleasure, Komui. Though just as a piece of advice, I don't think it wise to let the boy go alone."

Komui nodded once and Bookman took his leave.

---

Lavi knew even before he opened the library's massive double doors that something bad was going to happen. Call it Bookman's intuition or whatever, he just felt it. Filled with misgiving, he opened the door just a crack. Empty. Lavi breathed a sigh of relief and let the door swing wide open.

Yuu looked up from where he was standing behind a shelf. Lavi froze. Yuu noticed. "I'm just leaving." He carried an armful of books heading for the door, and Lavi took an involuntary step back, despite there being more than enough space for Yuu to pass.

"Hn," Yuu said as acknowledgement. Lavi knew him long enough to know it meant 'thanks' but with that bitter tone it was probably sarcastic.

"What's wrong, Yuu-pyon?" Lavi tried to sound steady, but his voice trembled a little. Yuu scoffed and didn't even break his stride.

"Don't even try to pretend, Bookman. It's not working."

Yuu headed for the staircase down.

---

"What do you think, Lavi?" Bookman asked. The redhead flipped through pages of a massive book from the same shelf Kanda had been standing behind.

"I don't know what to think of that guy anymore," Lavi grumbled. "Just when I thought we had all the Exorcist data pinned down, that stupid enigma turns out like this." He turned another page with a bit too much force, causing it to tear a little near the spine. He glared at the book, as if that were the source of all his troubles.

"Control, Lavi," Bookman chided. Lavi frowned, but continued reading with less vehemence.

"Plus, my current persona's reaction to this is supposed to be 'yammering idiot who's terrified out of his wits'. It's frustrating," Lavi snarled. Bookman looked at him over the small stack of books between them disapprovingly. "I mean, how am I supposed to gather information while pretending to be scared of Kanda's every single breath? He's already blocked me out because of the stupid reaction I have to have," Lavi said more calmly, with much effort.

"Then just wait it out for a while, stupid boy," Bookman said with great objectivity. "Then you can go back to being all flowers and sparkles."

Lavi winced. "That's Walker's image," he contested. Bookman raised an eyebrow at him. "Fine," Lavi gave in, closing the book. He walked back to the shelf. "Kanda did say that he was leaving tomorrow morning, though. I wonder why he needed a book on mythology…"

"He borrowed a book on mythology?" Bookman asked sharply. Lavi nodded, slipping the dusty volume back into its rightful place on the shelf.

"The green hardcover one on this shelf, and a few others on plants, fighting techniques and disguises. The mythology book was about fourteen by seven. Inches. Maybe about one and a half inches thick," Lavi drew a box in the air with his hands. "'One-Hundred-and-One Asian Read-Aloud Myths and Legends'. I never read it. He took it back to his room, I'd guess."

"Pack your things and get some sleep," Bookman told him, setting down his pen.

"Eh? Why?"

"When Kanda leaves tomorrow, you're going with him."

---

_I really lost it today_, Yuu thought to himself as he made his way to the seventh floor. His throat felt dry just from all the talking today. _I probably talked more today than I have for the last ten years_, he smirked, sending a small Finder scurrying to get out of his path. _Talking is more tiring than I- is that my door lying there?!_

Sure enough, his room was missing its door. It also had tell-tale splinters in the shape of a high-heeled boot, so Yuu had a pretty good idea of who he could thank for this. Ah well, it was only one night. He would read, to minimize luggage. No way was he bringing all those books with him.

He flipped the mythology book open to 'Japan' and started reading. "Long ago, there was no earth or sea or sky…"

It took about all of 5 seconds to figure out that the first chapter was utter rubbish. Flip, flip, flip… Well, at least the Yamato-no-Orochi was more or less accurate, except about the part about it dying by the hand of an exiled storm god... Luck of the Mountain, Luck of the Sea… they must be talking about elemental affinity… Kappas, quite accurate, but they missed the fact that no kappa would be stupid enough to try and pull a fully armored warrior off his warhorse to drown and eat him… No tengu actually had long nose and a red face. Those were masks… just exactly who was this author trying to kid?

The book was useless, Yuu decided, closing it with a snap. Next, 'Natural Remedies for All Ailments'. Yuu sighed at the size of the heavy book. It was going to be a long night.

---

Yes, I am aware that the Chinese still celebrate the Lunar New Year. As does most of Asia. However, with modern science and being in England, it's harder to keep track of the lunar calendar, seeing as it does not follow the usual calendars.

Japan, after WWII (I think, my dates suck, history is not my strong point) changed New Years celebrations to fit into the Western calendar, where the New Year starts on Jan 1. The rest of the countries around it stuck to the Lunar New Year though.

Funnily enough, next year, 2010, Valentine's Day really DOES fall on the first day of the Lunar New Year. I had no idea. Oh, and the New Year celebrations last for approximately… 15 days if I'm not wrong (again). This super long time is so that relatives could go visiting each others houses, and in those days, there were no such things as bullet trains or planes.

This is how you calculate you 'lunar age' (because I dunno what it's really called). The 9 months when the mother was pregnant counts as 1 year. Every Lunar New Year is counted as a year. Since Kanda is born in June, and in my fic he's turning 20 this year (wow, that sounds old), he's 1+20. '21'.

_YM: Hello everybody! I realise this wasn't a very long chapter, but all the info tired me out. Also, I wrote this while my throat was bleeding and I was home on MC. One step closer to increasingly faster updates! Please review!_


	8. Departures

_**Inheritance**_

_**Departures**_

_**Disclaimer:**____I solemnly swear I own nothing but the plot, my laptop, and the smugness that I have taken Kanda's ego to a whole new level._

_Kanda Yuu is in for some big changes in his life. They start with Valentine's Day, the Lunar New Year, a trip to Japan (aka Akuma central), a Moyashi, an Usagi, and the fact his last name's 'Kanda'._

Language notes:

_Akido: _martial art form that is primarily used as defense, using your opponent's strength against them.

_Yume janai: _Not a dream.

_---_

The book was useless, Yuu decided, closing it with a snap. Next, 'Natural Remedies for All Ailments'. Yuu sighed at the size of the heavy book. It was going to be a long night.

---

Bookman was up at around five am, rearranging books so the stacks on the tables and floor weren't quite so precarious. They really needed new shelves, Bookman made a mental note to tell Komui later, climbing a chair to put a book on top of a stack. It swayed dangerously and a hand came out of nowhere to steady it.

"Well, you're awake rather early, youngster," Bookman said, Kanda looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Didn't sleep," the Japanese exorcist said curtly. In his other arm were the books he borrowed yesterday, according to Lavi. Bookman eyed the ruffled pages critically.

"I hope you didn't tear any pages out," the old man took the books. Kanda scoffed and took a seat, eying the towering stack of books in case it decided to drop on him.

"No."

"Good. I had to ask, you know."

"Hn."

Bookman flitted around the shelves, placing the books back in their rightful places. Kanda said nothing, just watching, until Bookman sighed.

"What did you want to ask me?"

"… Is there a way to conceal your presence from Akuma?" Kanda asked hesitantly. What a prudent boy, Bookman mused. Lavi was right. They would have to rewrite the information on this one.

"There was an Exorcist capable of doing so, certainly."

"'Was'?"

"The Exorcist in question is General Marian Cross. Of course, then you would know that the Order hasn't a clue where he's been for the last two years, or whether he's even alive."

"Che. Figures." Kanda stood. "Your time has been much appreciated Bookman."

"You leaving already?" Bookman asked, tone half accusatory. Kanda paused, questioning. "Not going to help an old man put the books back where you found them? Youngsters these days, no respect for the elderly." Kanda cast a quick glance round the empty library.

"I'd rather not be here when your apprentice arrives. I mean no disrespect," Kanda inclined his head. Bookman frowned mentally. He really was behaving like an entirely different person. If it was possible, he was even more detached than before.

"That idiot? Stupid boy won't be up for at least a couple of hours," Bookman snorted, handing Kanda half the books he was carrying. "Here. It goes on that shelf."

---

It would definitely be the giant Rubik's cube, Yuu decided as he slipped an _Akido_ theory book back into its place on the dusty shelf. There was no way he would be able to get back to the main house within the fifteen days, well, fourteen now.

The library door opened and sunlight filtered into the dusty room.

"Hey Gramps, why'd you make me pack so early in the morning? S'not like I've gotta mission 'r summat," Lavi complained, walking dazedly into the nearby shelf. Through the gap in the books he saw Yuu's face.

"Eh, Yuu-chan? I had this crazy-ass dream last night I gotta tell you 'bout. You went all psycho on a bunch of higher-ups and said you were leaving the Order to do somethin' like go to Russia or something. Really crazy right? Ha ha," Lavi smiled drowsily. "I'll tell you the whole thing later, when I wake up properly. Where's Panda-gramps? He better have asked me to wake up for a good reason… I really hope it's not to test me on the Seven Year's War. I was half-asleep when reading that." He yawned.

"Maybe I will test you on the war, now that you've said that," Bookman said disapprovingly, appearing out of nowhere.

"Ack! Gramps, you heard that? I mean, I still remember it, you know."

"_Yume janai_," Yuu muttered, and turned to leave. Bookman cleared his throat.

"Now, Kanda, it would be in your best interests to be more pleasant to the fool seeing as it was agreed that he would be accompanying you on your, ah, business," the old man chided gently. Yuu's shoulder's stiffened, and if Bookmen weren't specifically trained to take notice of minute posture changes, Bookman might almost have believed he had no objections as he graciously nodded and turned to close the door behind him.

---

Yuu headed straight to the science department, after he had swiped his bag from the room next to the one he'd been interrogated in. He paused as he remembered the stench of blood and decay starting to seep into the stone of the whole floor, an evil miasma waiting to consume more and more of the Order at first chance. Hn, it must have bothered him more than he'd thought. Still, Yuu thought as he shifted his bag to the other hand, it was rather stupid to leave possessions of the one you were interrogating just in the next room. Oh, wait, he shouldn't be speaking ill of the dead. It was worth mentioning to Komui though, once he was out of the Order's black book.

He'd made his way to one of the lower levels of the Science Department's Research Faculty without meeting anyone, but it was too much to ask for the lab to be empty. A few researchers were always there, monitoring something or the other, looking like they haven't slept for days. Or years. And they still hadn't gotten permission for a coffee machine to be placed in the corner, apparently because the higher ups decided it would contaminate whatever they were developing, but Yuu knew better. Even the Order had a budget, which they could be pretty stingy about when the mood hit them. Yuu's windows had had cracks in them for years.

Well, Yuu thought, maybe they'd be half-dead enough not to notice if he walked right by. The gate to the ark was there, digital numbers labelled it "58", held in stasis ever since the moyashi pulled it into existence. Its white light glared accusingly as it hovered, yet stayed perfectly still, making Yuu's eyes hurt if he stared at it too long. It had a strange reverberating presence, somehow humming silence; unnatural, that much was evident in the way it did not touch the world and the world did not touch it. The two entities flowed past each other like water over a smooth, oil-covered stone. No matter how many times Yuu had to see it or use it for missions, it made him uneasy right down to his marrow.

Yuu took a breath and stepped into the lab, keeping his footsteps as steady and even as a clock, because, if nothing else, heaven knows how difficult it is to walk soundlessly in boots. He made it halfway across the lab without anyone so much as looking up. He breathed a sigh of relief, and felt his foot make contact with the cold stone floor just a milligram harder than the last, and in his mind, even though it was ridiculous to think that the researchers would notice, the whole room seemed to suddenly focus on him. Yuu fought the urge to run for the gateway, but quickened his steps just as he saw a white coat rising from a swivel chair in the corner of his eye. Almost breaking into a run, if he could just make it to the floating white panel before he was stopped…

"Kanda?" It was a familiar enough voice. Yuu could have sworn out loud when he realised it was Reever, someone who just about had enough authority to make him stay. He ignored the summon, it was just twelve steps more, eleven, ten…

"Kanda! What are you doing?"

Nine more steps, eight-

"Kanda Yuu!"

Yuu stopped six steps short of the gate and turned around so abruptly Reever staggered backwards to stop the hand he'd reached out for Yuu's shoulder from hitting the exorcist's face. He gave the most disgusted glare he could muster, trying to look as if the Australian had been out of place stopping _him_, and certainly had crossed the line by calling his first name. It seemed to work at first, Reever backed away a step, but recovered quickly enough. Yuu supposed trying to stare down a man a head taller then yourself was difficult enough, especially on his grounds and when he was the elder by a few years.

"What?" Yuu growled.

"Eh, where you going? You got a mission somewhere?" Reever asked, running a hand through dirty blond spikes, eyebrows furrowed in perpetual stress. Yuu gave a curt nod, index finger tapping Mugen's hilt, making his irritation known. Reever sighed, muttering something about how the office never gave them prior notice when they knew bloody well that research was being done.

"Komui cleared you for passage, I suppose?" It was routine now, though certainly not when the ark was first used. Yuu raised an eyebrow in the 'what-do-you-think' way and Reever sighed again.

"Well, where you going?" Reever asked, scribbling something down in a notepad.

"Asia Branch," Yuu heard himself say. It felt too unreal that he would be getting away with this all so easily. Reever nodded.

"Gate 26, be careful on your mission, okay?" Yuu felt the tiniest twinge of guilt at the honest concern in the Department Head's eyes, but he just nodded and turned to the gate once more.

"Section Chief! Have you seen Kanda?" Komui's voice rang through the lab. Yuu could almost see Reever's tired face turn to surprise as the Supervisor made it to the doorway.

Yuu ran.

"Wha?"

"Section Chief! Don't let Kanda go through the gate!"

Reever spun to try and catch hold of Yuu, but the chances of a scientist catching an exorcist who already had a head start?

_Non-existant_, Yuu thought smugly, as the gateway to the ark swallowed him.

---

Komui swore under his breath as the last wisp of Kanda's ponytail disappeared into the white light of the ark. Reever skidded to a stop in front of the gateway, the force of regulation and habit kicking in.

"We don't have a gateway in Japan, right?" Komui already knew the answer as Reever shook his head.

"I gave him the number of the Asia Branch," Reever said grimly. Komui spat something offensive in a Chinese dialect.

"Get me a golem connection to the Asia Branch!" Komui ordered. "And get Bak on the line. Now!" And as an afterthought he added, "And get Allen down here! We just might need the Musician," he finished grimly.

---

_YM: School is being tough since there are major exams this year, so I probably can't update often, but I promise to try if you leave a nice review? Sorry this is a short chappie, and rather crappily rushed after such a long time, too. Well, I just HAD to turn this out today, seeing as it's both Valentine's Day AND the First Day of Chinese New Year. So, happy V-day everyone! __祝你新年快乐！__And in case THAT didn't turn up on your com, happy Chinese New Year! Review please, thank you!!_


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